Not only did Worcester get hit with a lot of snow, the amount that fell in the Thursday-Friday storm broke a record that has been in place for 72 years.

“Worcester came in today with 22.8 inches (for Thursday and Friday),” National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Foley said.

“They also set a daily record for snowfall today (Friday). The previous record was 9 inches. That was set in 1941. So the record snowfall today is 14.9 inches of that record.”

Snowfall records in Worcester have been kept since 1892, Mr. Foley said.

“It wasn't that it was a big storm. It was a large, area-wide storm that just kind of meandered right off the southern New England coast,” Mr. Foley said.

“It was a long-duration storm. Because it was such a long-duration storm, we had snow amounts in some locations of 20-plus inches. So it was basically a three-day storm.”

In addition, Logan International Airport in Boston had a daily record snowfall for Friday with 10.2 inches. The previous record was 8 inches, also set in 1941.

In this area, it was also a winter wonderland.

On Friday, Mark A. Dufour had only slept two hours since Wednesday night and was going to go on adrenaline, he said, to keep plowing until after midnight to clean up the snow at Fitchburg State University.

Mr. Dufour owns Dufour Motor Sales on River Street in Fitchburg and subcontracts with the city and FSU for plowing. His employees call him “The Plow Guy.”

“I've been doing it for 30 years. I work all winter for that to enjoy summer,” he said, pointing to a photo of his 30-foot Boston Whaler docked in the Merrimack River. The boat is named MAD One (after his initials).

“You have to be mad to do this,” he joked.

Snowstorms are just par for the course for Mr. Dufour. It takes about half a day for his employees to clean off and move the 26 vehicles he has for sale. He also has about 18 private plowing contracts.

“They were talking 3 to 6 inches, and we got 15 to 16 inches,” he said. “It was a long, drawn-out event that caught a lot of people off guard. The DPW still has a lot of guys out now.” It was 4 p.m. Friday afternoon.

After he finally finished at the college, he said, he would get some rest.

“Once you get to a certain point, the lack of sleep doesn't affect you,” he said. “Besides, on Sunday it's going to be 48 degrees. This is New England. If you don't like that weather, wait a minute.”

In Westminster, at the Depot General Store, clerk Denise M. LeBlanc was busy selling lottery tickets, beer and lots of snacks.

“Since the snow stopped it has really picked up,” she said.

She said she loves the snow.

Before work, she went snowboarding at Wachusett Mountain with her 15-year-old son.

Jerry Collins of Winchendon was picking up some beer after work at his maintenance job in Fitchburg. He is a cross-country skier and said he, too, likes the snow.

“But I didn't expect this much,” Mr. Collins said. “It's the weekend, though. We can all deal with it.”

Burke D. McClellan, also of Winchendon, was picking up a couple of beers after work as a welder at Fitchburg Welding.

He said his drive in this morning wouldn't have been too bad if it weren't for the other drivers.

“People driving in four-wheel-drive Subarus were going 20 miles per hour, and I have a two-wheel drive and did 40 the whole way. I think Subaru drivers are terrorists.”

He said the snow doesn't really faze him. He pays someone to plow and makes his 16- and 19-year-old sons shovel for him.

“I'll have to shovel at work tomorrow, but I'll get some fresh air and get to smoke while I'm out there.”

Driving was so treacherous that Gov. Deval L. Patrick recommended commuters take their time leaving work Friday, giving plow operators more time to combat the heavy, wet snow that covered highways, streets, roads and anything else that resembled asphalt and pavement.

In Sutton, Route 146 north was closed after a tractor-trailer truck jackknifed and struck a car, blocking all three lanes. No one was injured in the 1:30 p.m. crash.

Route 146 was closed for more than an hour before one lane was opened. State police said traffic was being detoured off the highway at Exit 5. All lanes were reopened by 4 p.m.

Because of the massive cleanup, Worcester State University canceled all classes and events for today.

Contact Paula Owen at powen@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @PaulaOwenTG.

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